


Stolen

by Kaori_Nagisa



Series: The Prophet and the Virgin Mary [2]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Drunk Sex, F/M, First Time, Fondling, Oral Sex, Vaginal Sex, Xenophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2016-01-18
Packaged: 2018-05-14 16:37:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5750386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaori_Nagisa/pseuds/Kaori_Nagisa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A begrudging rescue ends with a long night of passion, with both Saren and Nova being unaware of their past connections.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stolen

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't sure whether to mark this as underage or not, given the varying age of consent present around the world. I went ahead and did so anyway to avoid problems, but there we go. 
> 
> This was a bit hard to write, particularly around the porn part - I feel like it jumps around a bit too much, and switching POVs is a bit rough. Saren himself is just extremely difficult to write in general, and I can only hope he sounds enough IC to be passable.

Nova wasn’t quite sure what to make of the place they had all been dragged out to. Chora’s Den had already made her a little wary simply by way of the sign - without even entering into the place, she had felt like it wasn’t so much a bar for women to hang around in as it was for men. And sure enough, as she and a small gaggle of other recent graduates had ambled into the establishment, her eyes were met with a multitude of half-clothed women dancing on platforms situated all around the place, and atop another larger one hovering right over the circular bar. Most were asari - expected given the owner seemed to be of the species herself, though human women could be seen wandering about here and there, hands laden with trays of drinks. They gave the group of human teenagers a brief glance, before their attention returned to their various tasks. Nova was a bit glad they weren’t accosted - she wasn’t overly familiar with the “proper” age for drinking here on the Citadel, but couldn’t help feeling most of them would be considered too young. 

“Leave it to Patrick to pick the sleaziest-looking bar in the Wards..” she heard one of the other girls say, a brunette by the name of Tanya. Nova couldn’t help agreeing with the sentiment, but none of them would say anything against it. Most of the group appeared to be rather pleased with the atmosphere in the club, and while the decor was… awkward at best, Nova let herself get swept along in the joviality of her fellows. They had all fought for a chance to come to the Citadel, after all, begging their instructors and Alliance superiors for a few days of fun and unwinding. It wouldn’t be long after graduation before most of them would be signing on with the military, after all - and early training was almost an assurance they wouldn’t get time off like this again for a long while. They had all agreed to enjoy it together, one last hurrah before they all likely went their separate ways in the Alliance. 

It was for this reason she put aside her wariness of the surroundings, following along with her friends as the boys went up to start ordering rounds. Nova had to suppress a giggle at the exasperated expression on the owner’s face as she waved some bartenders over to them. Hopefully the troublemakers of the group - Patrick and his friends - wouldn’t give the poor asari too much of a headache as the night wore on. She flushed a bit as their loud voices drew the attention of a few patrons elsewhere in the bar, eyes flicking to their group. A couple of turians were among them, mandibles flicked in what Nova thought might be amusement - for all her interest and like of the species, it was still hard to tell sometimes. They were relatively attractive, and it wasn’t until one of the girls dug an elbow into her ribs that she realized she had been staring. The flush only worsened as her friends teased her about it. She’d always been known as the most xenophiliac of them all, affectionately dubbed by a few of the girls in their group as “turian fucker.” The name didn’t really bother Nova much, of course - she knew it wasn’t meant to be malicious, and could even laugh at the irony of it given her status as one of the only people left in their class who _hadn’t_ had sex before. Still, she silently hoped her friends would avoid saying it while they were out among _actual_ turians. And other aliens, of course, but they didn’t draw her eye as easily as turians could. 

The groups split up after drinks were ordered, most of the guys heading off towards where dancers were performing, with the rest staying behind with the girls. Tanya and another girl Nova had been friends with for a while - Malia - dragged her over with them to an empty table, claiming the seats and almost immediately beginning to down their drinks. 

“I see Liam is still way too into asari,” Malia laughed, eyes resting on one of the younger boys in the group. Tanya playfully shoved her.

“Better learn how to grow tentacles out of your head if you want a chance! At least it isn’t as hard to find blue body paint,” she said, sipping her cocktail and smirking. Nova couldn’t help the small smile she gave as well. Malia had held a far-too-obvious crush on Liam since he’d transferred in a year ago. But he’d never paid her much mind, either uninterested or utterly oblivious to the flirts she’d thrown at him with increasingly less subtlety. “At the rate you’ve been going, your chances of landing with him are about as dismal as Jonny managing to get Nova into bed.”

This brought a blush back to her cheeks, and Nova gave Tanya a withering look. 

“I-I’m just not… interested in Jonny. He’s a nice guy, just… not-”

“Not a turian?” Tanya’s grin already looked lopsided. Either she was worse than Nova had initially thought about holding her liquor, or that was a _really_ strong drink. “I dunno what you find sexy about those aliens, but who am I to judge?”

“Exactly. You slept with that creep Jeremy two years ago, after all,” Malia cut in, snickering. 

“Hey, least he wasn’t scaled and looked like some dinosaur.”

Nova quieted, taking to nursing her drink rather than interject again. She didn’t mind the dig, though. While few of the girls in their group could really understand her particular attraction to turians, she knew none of them held ill thoughts towards her for it. It’d be like shaming any of the guys for being in to asari despite the… well, tentacle heads, for one thing. 

With humanity having been introduced to the galactic community not all that long ago, it wasn’t uncommon for them to experiment with aliens. At this point it had become like any other preference humans held back when they thought they were alone in the universe. Some shared it, some didn’t. There’d always be purist types who scoffed at the idea of romantic or sexual involvement with foreign species, but even back on Earth it was common to see interspecies couples out and about on business. Granted, asari seemed to be the most common of aliens that humans gravitated towards, but perhaps the physiological similarities just made them easier to approach. To Nova, it felt like it was just another sign that humanity was becoming more accepted by the longer-established species in the galaxy.

Of course, perhaps her own take on it was simply colored by her attraction to turians. For people like Tanya, who apparently had never even thought of trying to date outside her species, it may have been different. But it was fine if that was the case. One of humanity’s most notable traits was how diverse each of them were compared to each other - a trait even aliens had mentioned, though in varying degrees of tone.

“While we’re on the subject, when are you going to hook yourself a dino boy toy, Nova?” 

“What?” 

Tanya and Malia both grinned, eyes becoming hazy with all the alcohol. “Come _oooon_ , girl~. Once we go into the academy, chances of ever seeing aliens will be nadda for at least a few years, once we’re all past our peak. Don’t tell me you haven’t thought of losing it to a turian before that happens, Nooovaaa!”

The blonde-haired human could only flush pink and try to sputter out a response.

 

The night passed quickly, or perhaps it was just the effects of the alcohol lacing her system making it seem so. All Nova knew was as their little party had worn on, the group kept splitting further and further apart, each of them finding something to do either further in the back of the club or outside it. She was almost sure Liam had skulked off with one of the dancers, and Malia had headed down the same route not long after with a drunk Patrick in tow. Nova couldn’t be sure though, as she’d become a bit too hazy in the last couple of hours to really remember anything clearly. Regardless, she was very obviously on her own right now - unsure where Tanya had went off to. 

The floor seemed to be wobbling ever so slightly as she made her way up to the bar for another cocktail. Her good senses were telling her to lay off the booze before it got worse, but Nova felt like after all the work she’d been putting in recently with school and training, that she deserved at least one night of just getting completely shitfaced and enjoying herself. She smiled shyly at the matronly bartender, who returned it albeit with a far more amused expression, handing her another round after Nova asked. The human downed it quickly, loving the fruity taste of the drink. Something asari-made, similar in flavor to some juice she was used to back on Earth yet somehow still not quite placeable. A giggle slipped out as she leaned against the bar, staring at the remaining flecks of pink liquid in her glass. Holding them up to the light, they almost took on a rainbow-like glint that fascinated her.

“How about I refill that for you, doll,” came an unfamiliar voice, and Nova’s eyes were drawn away from her empty glass and up to an older-looking human man. He wasn’t particularly unattractive, with a crisp suit and close-cut brown hair, but there was something in his eyes she instantly felt wary of, but couldn’t figure out what it was. Still, inebriated as she was, Nova simply offered another smile and slight wave of her hand. 

“Ahah, thank you! B-But I’m fiiiiine,” she replied, voice slurring slightly. She bit down on her lip in embarrassment, straightening up from the counter and taking a slight step away from the man - only to back up into another human. “Oh, I’m sorry!” 

“No harm done. Not going to complain about such a pretty lady bumping into me,” this newcomer said, voice taking on a very uncomfortable tone. She tried to simply laugh it off, though, moving away from him. Even as the room had a blur to it at the edges, Nova still caught the first man’s eyes staring at her, and it made her feel exposed for the first time that night. She tried to discreetly pull up the edge of her dress over her chest, starting to regret letting Malia talk her into wearing something like this. She vaguely recalled balking about how low-cut it was back at their room, only to be convinced in short order by the younger girl. 

_It’s blue, come on Nova - that’s your favorite color!_

The other man stalked closer, smiling at her in a very disturbing way. She wished her head wasn’t buzzing so much. 

“What do you say, care to join us for a dance? I’m sure a pretty girl like you could put any of these strippers to shame.”

“Thanks for the offer, but.. um..”

“What’s the problem? We’re just asking for a little dancing, maybe some more drinks… come on, I’ll refill your glass for you.” 

Nova felt the two humans encroaching on her personal space, and backed up further, holding her empty glass close as if trying to shield herself with it. The intoxication was wearing off just enough for her to whip her eyes about the room, frantically searching for any of her friends - even scrawny Liam would do at this point. Oh right, Liam went off to have sex with one of the dancers. She’d somehow forgotten that detail. But where in the world was everyone else?

She saw a krogan eyeing them suspiciously, and sense told her to make her way closer to the turtle-like alien, since given his holstered weapon he was likely a bouncer of some sort - or so she assumed. But the large size of the thing intimidated her nearly as much as the two men currently creeping on her, and so she continued looking around for someone, _anyone_ who she could at least go chat up to escape the men. 

Her eyes fell on a turian standing around the other side of the bar, nursing a drink alone as he tinkered with a pistol. Good enough, she felt, and it wasn’t hard for her to feel safer around a species she was rather familiar with. Perhaps it was simply the abundance of the species in Citadel Security, but turians had always been a sort of comfortable, safe presence for her. Feigning an expression of shock, she exclaimed just loud enough for the humans to hear, “Oh! There’s my friend, I should g-get back to him. Bye!” Immediately she made a beeline for the grey turian, trying not to trip over herself in her hurry to get away. Given the heels, that was rendered impossible, and Nova ended up doing so anyway just as she reached the alien. It sent her falling against him, earning a surprised grunt from the turian and a cold stare as she backed up to try apologizing. 

“Watch where you’re going, human.” His voice was stern, low and with a hint of anger in it that surprised her. It was oddly attractive, however, and she felt herself flush in embarrassment. 

“I-I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean-.. u-um, c-can I please ask you for help?” she whispered, eyes pleading as she met the turian’s gaze. This earned her a snort, his mandibles twitching as he looked down at her like she was beneath him. 

“Help? And why would I even want to help you with anything, human? Take yourself elsewhere, I don’t happen to be looking for company.”

“P-Please… those men are-” His words stung, but she tried to push through, only to stop short as she heard one of the humans call after her. Turning, she saw the one in the suit standing there with an irritated expression. 

“Usually when a man offers you a drink, you take him up on his hospitality. Now, shall we try this again?” he said, voice dripping with irritation. His friend came up next to him, smirking as if pleased to have cornered her. Nova took a step back, eyes turning back to the turian currently looking at the two humans with an unreadable expression. 

“Pay attention when someone’s talking to you, bitch!” the other man said, suddenly grabbing her arm and forcefully yanking her closer. Nova let out a cry that attracted the attention of some of the dancers nearby - but they all gave the scene a wide berth. She wasn’t going to get help from any of them, it seemed. 

There was a whirring sound out of nowhere, and it drew all three human’s attention. The turian fidgeted with the pistol, mock aiming it at one of the men and eliciting an understandably nervous reaction. He raised it within a second, adjusting something with the heat sinks before holding it loosely by his side. His eyes bored into the men.

“You got a problem, skull-face?” 

Nova thought she saw an irritated twitch of the turian’s brow, but his face remained unreadable as he kept his gaze trained on the two men. “Problem? No, I just see a couple of rather insignificant insects disturbing my drink.”

“Fuck you, turian-”

The man in the suit held a hand up to stop his friend from continuing further. He fixed Nova’s would-be rescuer with an equally sharp stare as he said, “Just turn around and keep drinking, friend. This doesn’t concern you.” He motioned for the bigger human to follow, attempting to move away. Nova was yanked along, dropping her glass, but suddenly came to a stop as she felt a large, taloned grip on her other arm.

"But now you've gone and gotten my interest. Though I should mention that’s not usually a _good_ thing." She was tugged back towards the turian, roughly but with a far gentler motion than the man had used. The larger human’s jaw tightened, and he rounded on the turian with a renewed anger. 

“Yeah? How about I make this real interestin’ for you, goddamn skull-faced bastard!” he yelled, releasing his hold on the girl’s arm and moving to withdraw what looked to be a combat knife out from the back of his belt. His fingers had barely slipped around the shaft before Nova was pulled closer and a loud gunshot rang out. She yelped in surprise, backing up as the man’s leg exploded in red and he tumbled to the ground, crying out in pain and surprise. “F-Fuck! You fucking… shot me, you crazy-”

“I certainly did. Consider that your only warning, human. I suggest you go patch yourself up at the clinic.”

“Bastard, I’ll-”

“Gary, do yourself a favor and shut the hell up. Move! This little bitch isn’t worth getting shot over!” the suited human said, pulling the other’s arm over his shoulder and quickly making them scarce from the premises. Nova shook for a moment, still feeling the turian’s warm hand on her arm as she noticed the perturbed looks of the other patrons, and the defensive stance the krogan bouncer had moved into. Her eyes met the owner’s briefly, but the woman turned away as if trying to pretend she hadn’t noticed anything - nor had a spot of blood on her floor. What little alcohol had been in her system seemed to have gotten nearly flushed out with the scene, and she soon turned back to meet the turian’s stern, ice-colored eyes. Part of her was wanting to thank him - he was the only one who had even attempted to stand up for her, let alone go that far. But another part just wanted to get as far away from him as possible, what with the emotionless expression he was giving her and the cold, calculated way he had shot someone, as if the act was as simple and basic to him as breathing. 

He soon broke the gaze, turning back towards the bar and motioning for one of the bartenders. Soon his glass was refilled, and upon another movement of his head, a second drink was set down - in a color Nova recognized. She gave him a confused look, one he merely returned for a second before motioning for her to sit. 

“Drink up and stop quivering so.”

“I-I…” She bit her lip, sliding onto the empty stool beside him warily. “Thank you..”

“It’s just a drink. I do not require your thanks for it.”

“N-No, I mean… w-well, the drink too, but… but I meant for.. helping me. I, um, didn’t think anyone was… w-was going to.”

This made him go quiet for a moment, and she felt his eyes on her again but couldn’t bring herself to look up. Her heart was still pounding slightly from the suddenness of what had occurred, and Nova had to do everything in her power to keep her hand from shaking as she lifted the glass and brought it to her lips. A snort from her rescuer had her jump slightly. 

“Why did you bother me in the first place, human?” 

“That’s.. well…” 

She grew silent herself now, unsure how to explain. She was afraid perhaps her reasoning of simply feeling safer around his species would come off as rude or racist. It was, a little bit - the abundance of turian officers in C-Sec likely didn’t help recolor her perceptions towards the species as law-abiding and protective sorts, even though she knew turians were as varied in personality and occupation as humans were. She could brush it off as simply saying she had noticed his weapon, but at that point it would have been better to go to that krogan bouncer earlier - and she had a suspicion he’d say as much, if she tried to feed him that reasoning. A flush grew in her cheeks - possibly from the alcohol coming back to her, she wasn’t sure - and she couldn’t help sparing another glance to her rescuer. Probably didn’t help that he was an attractive turian, on top of everything else. 

So she decided on the truth. “I just… feel safer with you. I-I mean, your.. um, species.”

All she got in response was an amused chuckle. More like a grunt, actually. 

“If all the men of your own are like that, I suppose I could see why.” He took a sip of his own glass, side-eyeing her for a moment as he holstered his pistol. “This isn’t the most reputable of establishments. Why are you here alone?”

“I… wasn’t. Or, well.. a bunch of us came here for some celebrating, but they’ve all… gone somewhere.”

Another snort.

“I would suggest finding your companions, but after that little scene I have half a wonder if you would get anywhere without being accosted yet again.”

“I’m sorry for the trouble…” Nova hung her head. Somehow, even if he hadn’t actually done so, she felt as though she was being scolded. Even amid the pleasant buzz returning to her mind as she slowly nursed her alcohol, guilt was present at having dragged a random bystander into a mess like that. The resolution had been more violent than she’d anticipated, too, and perhaps that was also a source for the remorseful feelings. 

“... Do not feel sorry for yourself too much. I always find it amusing to put upstart humans in their place.” She heard his glass clink against the bar. 

“Thank you, again… Um, can I ask for your name, sir?” 

She turned her eyes back to him, almost afraid of meeting that cold gaze dead on again, yet finding herself drawn to his form. There was a familiarity, a sort of comfort she took as she warily allowed herself to relax again, despite the turian’s harsh way of speaking. As he turned to meet her gaze once more, she felt another flush creep to her cheeks - desperately hoping the low lighting in the club hid the reaction from him. She’d feel far too embarrassed if he noticed her reddening over him like some pitiful schoolgirl. 

“Saren Arterius.”

“It’s… um. It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Saren..”

“Hmph. Not returning the gesture with your own?” he asked, mandible twitching up in what Nova thought might be a smirk. His words took a moment for her intoxicated mind to process, but once she did her embarrassment only seemed to grow, feeling her face heating up all the way to her ears. 

“I-I’m sorry, my name - it’s, Nova. N-Nova Shepard.”

“.... Nova. I suppose consider yourself lucky that there was a Spectre here tonight.”

The way he’d sounded out her name sent shivers up her neck. The metallic flanging present in turian voices only seemed to heighten how attractive his was, and hearing her name in that desirable baritone nearly made her dizzy. But in her haze, she focused in on another, unfamiliar word. 

“Spectre…?” 

Saren let out a low chuckle, barely more than a rumble within his chest. “I take it you’re quite new to the Citadel, human. Allow me to enlighten you.”

 

He wasn’t entirely sure why he had allowed this. Saren’s distaste for humans ran for both sexes, and even now, despite being pleasantly buzzed from the copious amount of drinks he’d finished off, he couldn’t shake off mild irritation at the female’s actions. Granted, she was probably even more wasted than he was - and for all he knew, every female human acted like this while intoxicated. 

It was easy to admit he found a certain amusement in how ridiculous she was, though. Regaling her with choice stories of his Spectre days, she seemed to be enraptured by his every word, even as fits of giggling took over and she swayed haphazardly on the stool. He wasn’t about to deny liking that sort of uncontested attention, especially right now with the alcohol hitting his system the way it was. And it was rather enjoyable, having the woman so close - and oh, was she close. Her hand never seemed to leave his arm, and the rest of her constantly shifted between respectfully distanced or far closer than a simple drinking buddy should be. He particularly enjoyed the moments when she would lean in close and latch onto his arm with her entire body, pressing it between those soft mounds of flesh on her chest. Her breasts were quite unlike those of a turian woman, and as the night dragged on Saren couldn’t help a rising desire to inspect them further. 

He let out an annoyed snort at himself. What was he thinking, wanting to be anywhere near a human, let alone entertaining thoughts of touching her? But the strange curiosity about her body continued with every moment she pressed herself to him. He caught himself embellishing stories just to elicit another reaction from her, to bring her closer. She seemed especially fond of detailed descriptions of the various worlds he’d travelled through. Typical human, with a romanticized obsession with space. Oddly endearing, even so. 

He flinched ever so slightly as her hand suddenly rested on his leg. She merely seemed to be using it as a prop to hold herself up as she spouted some inane question about Noveria - he only barely registered it enough to give an answer. Between the inebriation and the warmth of the girl’s palm gently running along his thigh, it was becoming harder to focus on her words. As he glanced back to her, Saren felt like the same could be said for Nova. He wasn’t familiar with human females when it came to signs of arousal, but certain things seemed to be universal for all species, and he was most definitely beginning to notice them. This had the potential to be very dangerous. 

“It appears to be getting rather… late. Shouldn’t you be getting back by now?” he asked, unable to mask the low rumble elicited by her unaware wanderings. When she merely giggled, as if having not heard him and instead thought of something amusing, he made the decision to grasp at the hand on his leg, pulling her closer so he could capture her attention more clearly. That may have been a mistake, as the human tumbled off her stool and halfway into his lap, letting out a…. rather unusual sound. Saren fought down a hiss as he felt the girl squirm against him, those large breasts of hers pressing into his chest as she tried to right herself. 

Their eyes finally met, and he felt himself unconsciously wrapping an arm around the human’s thin waist, shortening the distance even further. The lighting in Chora’s Den was low, but as he took in the girl’s face from this close, Saren noted the bright green of her eyes. They seemed to drink him in the longer he stared, and he found himself idly wondering what they looked like in more natural lighting.

“I think you’ve had quite enough to drink, human..” he whispered, noticing the skin on her cheeks darkening as he did so. “Perhaps it’s time for you to run on home.”

“Maybe… but I..” Nova’s words slurred as she blinked at him, body still swaying even as he held her tightly against him. 

_But you wouldn’t get very far in this condition_ , he wanted to say. That was an irritating realization, but one he should have anticipated the moment the girl had started up those strange fits of giggling. It was his own fault, for allowing her to stay with him and continue drinking. Really, what _had_ he been thinking when he bought this pathetic human a round? Nothing he could really remember at this point, what with his own mind being addled by alcohol and… other things. He sighed as he broke gazes with the drunk girl against him, waving over the bartender to quickly pay. Once that was done, he held the human steady as he slipped them both off the stool, allowing her to lean on him for a moment until she got her bearings - and he regained his own, one hand against the bar for support. Saren was sure he would regret indulging this much in the morning. 

She let out another giggle. “Whereeee… are weee going?” 

“You tell me, girl. I may as well see you safely home - what with having enabled your sorry state.” 

Another laugh. Did she truly find everything so amusing while intoxicated? Still, she managed to give vague directions towards an apartment on the Silversun Strip - an area he was familiar with, and likely knew just where she was staying. Guiding the drunken human along, Saren pulled them out of the club and off towards a nearby transit station, calling up an auto-piloted car and typing in their destination. Neither of them were in a condition to drive - or even walk much, for that matter - and so this proved to be a useful arrangement as the two of them nearly fell into the back seat. She was still giggling. 

He wasn’t sure if that was going to drive him mad or not. 

Halfway towards the Strip, Saren felt her shift beside him and peered down, wondering what she was doing now. His eyes were met with the sight of her squirming in a curious manner, chest heaving as if she was having trouble breathing and legs rubbing against each other under the tight fabric of her dress. 

Blue. It was a nice shade - how had he not taken note of it before? 

Apparently sensing his eyes on her, Nova turned to meet his stare, eyes half-lidded and lips parted in a strange expression. He felt a hand snake to his own, and her voice ring out in a low tone, “Saren…” 

“Nova…?” He was surprised at the small moan she let out at the sound of her name. 

“Saren..” 

Before he could register what was happening, Saren found himself pressed against the seat as the girl climbed over him, her small hands running over his chest in an erratic manner - almost shyly, it felt like. The sensation was not an unpleasant one, however, and soon he let out a low rumble, talons snaking their way to the girl’s waist. Her breathing hitched, cheeks darkening with a red tinge. There was an air permeating the small interior of the car, a heat rising between them to the point Saren began entertaining some very.. strange thoughts. 

_Perhaps a little indulging wouldn’t hurt_ … no, he shook the idea from his mind and gently pushed the girl off of him. She whined, but made no attempts to resist as she slid back into her seat. Her breathing still came out erratically though - arousal, heavy with intoxication and lowered inhibitions. Saren knew because he felt the same way, and was calling on every ounce of self control he had not to give in to the temptation. It was ridiculous to think of doing that with anyone at his age, let alone a _human_ of all things. Disgusting. 

 

The thoughts did not leave him, even with his adamant refusal to touch the girl again for the remainder of the ride. It had almost been a blessing when the car alerted them to arrival and they had stepped out into the crisp night air of the Silversun Strip. The scene in the car had apparently sobered both of them up a little, though he still had to carefully watch the human as they stumbled into Tiberius Towers and boarded the elevator. He could still almost smell the aroused state she was in, even had she not still been displaying outward signs of it. Their eyes kept meeting, but Saren was always the first to break contact - keeping himself a fair distance away from the girl as they rode up to her floor. 

But as they finally escaped the stuffy interior and moved out into a short hallway, Saren’s reluctance to make physical contact was put aside as the human stumbled just outside the door to her apartment. His hand was outstretched, arm wrapping around her small frame and pulling her upright again. But he couldn’t bring himself to release her, even as she mumbled something about needing to unlock the place. Saren allowed only the briefest moment for her to swipe her omni-tool over the lock before he pressed her up against the glass of the door, hearing the click as security was disabled. She let out a delightful little cry, eyes staring up at him with a mixture of fear and desire. 

“S-Saren… d-do you..”

“Wish to come inside? Yes… I think I do, if only for..” he paused, pressing a leg between her own and watching with amusement as her cheeks flushed again. “For a little while.”

Wrapping an arm around her waist to prevent her from falling back, he opened the door and pushed them inside. Growling out instructions to lock it back - which she obeyed without question - Saren gave the place a quick look before his eyes trained in on available surfaces. Couch, counter, that small little table sitting in front of the fireplace… even the floor seemed like as good an option as any. He didn’t rightly care, only wanting to get this going before his senses returned to him and made him remember this was a _human_ he was thinking of doing such a thing with. The girl seemed to have other ideas, however. 

“T-The bedroom, it’s.. u-upstairs… S-Saren, I’m not sure if-”

“Quiet.” 

He lifted her up into his arms, carrying her up the glass staircase to the second floor of the apartment. It didn’t take long to locate where she’d indicated, and he closed the door behind them as he unceremoniously dropped her onto the bed. It looked soft, and her body indented into it deeply. Good - he was curious to see just how she would look pinned against it. For her attempt at defusing the situation just seconds before, Nova splayed herself almost lewdly against the white sheets, eyes never leaving Saren’s as her chest kept heaving like in the car. His attention was inevitably drawn down, and soon he leaned against the bed and loomed over her, enjoying the shiver that went across her body. 

Could humans even mate with his own species? He had never been one to research too thoroughly into their physiology, barring the experiments and tests that had been run on a few back during the First Contact War. But that had been a far different goal than now, and as he slid a talon along the girl’s long, bare leg, he realized just how excited he was to uncover the mystery. 

She was like an asari, in the places that mattered. He had enough logic through his inebriated state to keep telling himself that, making the transition easier as he moved up to explore those soft mounds of flesh. They were so strange, so unlike what he was used to seeing on turian women. And the _sounds_ she made as he roughly pawed a finger over them, they were unbelievable. The volume of her mewling only seemed to increase whenever he grazed over bare skin, and with that in mind he tugged down the fabric of her dress (so _blue_ , such an arousing color) to free the-

“... What is this?” he growled, stopped by some sort of thin, lacy material hidden just below the top of the dress. It was a much lighter shade than the girl’s skin, but he could see her natural color just below the surface of the garment, as if teasing him. 

“W-What? O-Oh..” Nova didn’t giggle this time. Saren wasn’t sure if he was thankful for that, or disappointed. “It’s… um, a.. bra…”

“I want it gone.” Without even waiting for her to explain how to remove it, he took his talons and shredded the center of it with a low snarl, earning him a weak whimper from the girl. Pulling the torn fabric away, he was finally met with the human’s bare skin, smooth and almost tantalizingly unmarked save for a small circle of pink at the tip of each mound. He leaned down, breath heavy against the sensitive skin as he explored the beads with his hands. They were harder than the rest of the breast, and only seemed to be rising as he toyed with it. That in itself would have been amusing, but it was the pathetic noises he was pulling out of the girl that really kept his attention. Even with as little experience as he’d had with human mating situations, Saren seemed to know instinctively that she wouldn’t make these sounds in any other case. He felt a smug sense of satisfaction at being able to trigger such responses. 

He idly thought of how he had rarely seen such large breasts on other human women, or even most asari. Had he taken the time to pick at his memory for every encounter he’d had with either, there likely would have been some with a similar size - but he was far too intoxicated to make the bother, instead wanting to focus on the girl writhing beneath his ministrations. He never thought he would become so aroused simply watching a human twisting around and moaning. He didn’t even find the species attractive in any way. 

Or so he told himself, at least.

He suddenly wanted to see all of her. As pleasing as the blue of her tight little dress was, he was becoming far more fascinated by her skin, the flush that crept along it as he continued massaging her sensitive area. His subvocals hummed in desire, voice coming out low as he ordered her to strip. Her eyes met his, impossibly green in the more neutral lighting of the bedroom. He had been debating whether to wave them off, but now felt more interested in keeping them on. Saren wanted to see all of her clearly. 

She obeyed him after a pause, expression shifting through various different emotions he couldn’t quite make out. Despite his fascination with her soft, supple chest, he allowed her to move further onto the bed and out from under him, watching with a keen eye as she shyly pulled her clothes off, until she was left in nothing but a matching set of undergarments clinging to her hips, teasing small bits of her skin underneath the white fabric. Saren let out a low growl, reaching towards her in what most would have considered a threatening manner - but Nova only whimpered, closing her legs and taking the turian’s hand, tugging lightly on it. Curious, Saren moved closer at her urging, one hand coming to rest on her hip as the other was pulled upwards, held gently by this strange - and still very obviously inebriated - human. 

“What are you up to, human?” he asked, hovering over her and slowly slipping a talon underneath that infuriating lace resting on her waist and beginning to tug it down. He could feel her legs spread back out - not quite enough for him to move between them, but it was a start and elicited a pleased rumble deep in his subvocals. 

He watched her gaze waver, eyes seemingly running over every inch of his face, as if studying him. Committing him to memory. Saren was doing the same, though he would have never admitted it. Infuriating human, teasing him like this. He pulled the underwear down further, growling impatiently as their faces moved closer. And then he was surprised by her suddenly pressing her lips to his. 

Kissing wasn’t common among turians - their physiology simply didn’t allow for it between their own species, and the gesture itself was alien to them, something solely within the realm of human interest. And asari, probably, but they shared many traits with humans so it was only expected. Saren had to wonder if that wasn’t why the asari were so damned intent on making humanity their new pet project. Regardless, he was not used to the sensation of another’s mouth upon his, moving and rubbing over his rough hide like silk. It wasn’t an unpleasant thing, though, and as he felt the wetness of her tongue gliding over the part in his own lips, he reciprocated as best he could. The girl’s mouth opened for him, and his longer tongue was coaxed inside, twisting with her own and drawing out more of those sounds he had become so fond of.

Apparently she hadn’t anticipated just _how_ long a turian tongue was. He was threatening to press back into her throat when she finally whimpered and turned her head away, prompting him to remove himself. Saren let out a laugh. He was starting to like this human.

As well as a renowned human-hater would like any member of the species, at least. 

When she returned her eyes to him, he was pleased to see the redness continuing to spread. It only seemed to brighten those green gems, and he even noticed the dark splatter of - what were they called again? Freckles? - against her cheeks. Perhaps there was a certain attractive quality to her, even if he wasn’t keen on admitting it. He didn’t particularly note himself as a xenophile. Yet as he felt the lace undergarment sliding down her leg, freeing the final part of her body to soon be raked over by his unrelenting gaze, he had to wonder just why he was aroused this much by a human. He’d felt his plates parting the moment they had stepped into the apartment, and it was becoming almost painful now. But he refused to strip down just yet. 

He wanted to put her in her place, first. Dominate her and take in every inch of her exposed flesh before even thinking of allowing her a glimpse of his own. 

She lifted her legs so he could finally free her of that accursed piece of cloth, and as he tossed it to the side, Saren moved away from her, leaning back to better admire the view of her naked, vulnerable form. 

She looked so _soft_. Breakable. His mandibles tightened against his jaw as he thought of all the ways he could maim that perfect skin. 

Infuriating human. 

He pulled her legs apart with little warning, subvocals humming a low tone of arousal as he took in the sight between them, that small area of pink shimmering in the light. So they were at least similar enough to turian women and asari. He knew where to insert himself, once it got to that point. And oh, how he wanted to do so immediately, ram into her and relieve himself of all these disturbing, irritating desires towards a damned human woman. But he could sense she wanted it just as badly, and Saren couldn’t abide by that. No, he wouldn’t allow her the satisfaction just yet - not when he was having so much fun toying with her. 

 

Nova’s mind was in shambles. 

She wasn’t sure whether it was the alcohol or just general attraction that had not only made her do that stupid thing she’d done in the car, but got to this point with her pinned on the bed with a _very_ large, very handsome turian between her legs, leering at her with something bordering on amusement. She’d never even kissed someone before, let alone gotten to the point of being completely naked with her entire body flushed and primed for getting fucked. 

It was probably the alcohol. No way she would have gotten in bed with anyone otherwise, let alone a turian who had shot someone right in front of her.

But between all the sensations he was giving her, his rough fingers teasing and grinding on her breasts, that long tongue exploring the entirety of her mouth, she was a mess. Somewhere down in her subconscious, she’d known that she’d probably lose her v-card to a turian. It’d only make sense, given how few human guys she’d been attracted to (literally only one, and she still thought to this day that it was because of his thin waist and broad shoulders). But actually laying with her legs spread wide open underneath a turian wasn’t quite what she had imagined. Neither was the fact they were both probably too drunk to even remember half of this in the morning. 

She flinched as his hot breath hit her sensitive area, a whimper escaping as she looked down and saw his face very close to her sex. What was he-

Feeling that long tongue slipping out and teasing her folds sent her mind into a blank state. 

 

The cry she let out was beautiful. Saren’s mandibles moved into what was probably the turian equivalent of a smile, enjoying the reactions he could so easily pull from his human. 

_His_ human. There was something about the phrase that he liked. It somehow made her feel less like… well, a human, and more like something he owned. Something that belonged to him. It did wonders for that voice in the back of his head screaming at him to stop tongue-fucking a pathetic human. 

But the _sounds_ she made, they spurred him on with his admittedly-unskilled foray into such an act. Saren had never been much for long nights of passion, usually wanting to get himself off and move on. One-night stands were his preferred method, when he even felt the need for a release. So this lengthy teasing he had fallen into was new, unfamiliar. But the human writhing under his talons didn’t seem to care, or even notice. He wondered whether she’d ever had this done to her before; somehow, he thought not, judging by how _loudly_ she was crying out in pleasure. 

_Remember this sensation well, human. No man of your species can ever make you feel as good as this._

He took pride in the knowledge that he may utterly ruin her for human men after tonight. Just one more example of how inferior her species was compared to his own. 

He felt her hand brush against his fringe, eyes briefly looking up to see her panting and reaching for him. Saren wasn’t about to have that - not yet, anyhow. He lifted a hand from her leg and clenched his fist, sending a concentrated amount of dark energy towards her wrists, dragging them back down onto the bed and holding her there. 

“You’re a b-b-bi-aahh~..” 

He didn’t respond, merely grinning at the way she breathed out the words. He soon felt a slight tingling sensation on his own wrists, however, and noticed a shimmering blue field encircling them for but a moment before dispersing. Interesting, so the human was a biotic as well. Much weaker than he, though, and that was all he needed to know. Or perhaps she was simply too distracted by the pleasurable sensations he was giving her to be able to concentrate on holding the field. Amused by the thought, he increased the rate at which he lapped inside her soft folds, taking in her distinct taste as she all but screamed for him.

An odd twisting of her hips made him finally remove himself from her lower region, the scent of arousal strong enough that he knew if he continued any more she would reach her peak. He wasn’t quite done with her yet, and so cruelly let her suffer in the unfulfilled need as he ran his talons along the length of her side, hands finding their way back to her breasts. He was far too enamored with the sounds she made as he teased them for but a moment before pushing his waist between her legs and pressing into her. She _trembled_ for him; it was enough to dizzy him with desire.

 

She knew she had to tell him. 

Things were too heated, at this rate neither of them would be willing to stop - and whether because she was truly ready for it, or was simply suffering lowered inhibitions due to the large amount of asari cocktails still affecting her brain, Nova had to tell him it was her first time.

She had almost no idea of turian physiology down below, though that didn’t stop her from being eager to find out. But worry crept into her as she noted the roughness of turian skin, even the unplated portions along their neck. Saren didn’t come off to her as a particularly slow or gentle lover without sufficient reason to be so, and thinking of something that rough being pushed inside of her body at a frantic pace both excited and terrified her. She’d heard too many stories from the other girls about their first times, about it hurting, about bleeding - the thought caused an uncomfortable shiver. She recalled how the stories had made her almost scared to have sex with anyone, let alone a species as rugged as turians. 

Nova felt an increased pressure on her hip, wincing as she looked up to see Saren staring at her. His expression was unreadable, though the vibrations from his subvocals made her dizzy in a way she didn’t quite understand. His baritone voice ringing out only seemed to increase the feeling, and her gaze wavered as she moaned. 

“What are you thinking of, human?” he asked, leaning down and nipping lightly at her neck with those - admittedly razor sharp - teeth. It was a strangely pleasant sensation, sending a much more pleasurable shiver across her spine. 

“Saren… I-I..” Nova bit her lip as he nuzzled against her, blushing at the surprisingly gentle contact. “There’s… s-something you need to know..”

His voice thrummed against her ear, tingling far more than the biotic field around her wrists. She questioned just why turian subvocals were so _attractive_ , it almost seemed unfair. “Mmm… And what might that be?”

 

The word didn’t register with him at first, and it’s what prompted her to reiterate. 

“I’ve… n-never had sex.. W-We call that.. um… v-virginal..” 

Damn it. He may not have been the most moralistic man in the galaxy, but even Saren took pause at the news. While his own species didn’t have near as much of a stigma against fucking someone who had never experienced it before, he felt like humans did - if she had thought it so important to alert him, after all. That gave him pause more than anything, the face she had told him so rather than remain silent and take anything he gave her. Hearing the decidedly fearful tone to her tremoring voice, Saren realized she had told him because she was _scared_. He wasn’t sure how he should feel about that. Normally it would have brought him great joy to terrify a human, but with this one he felt an odd sense of remorse for it. 

He really hoped this was all simply due to the alcohol in his system.

He felt like he should have asked if she wanted to stop. Any other man with any sense of compassion would have, especially when met with such a frightened voice. Unfortunately for her, he wasn’t such a man - compassion was limited, and prone to be given out in barely handfuls. Saren knew he could be a better man than that, but part of him wanted to blame this entire situation on the damn girl. If it wasn’t because of her, he never would have ended up in this sorry situation in the first place.

Saren Arterius, infamous Spectre and one of the most vocal proponents against humanity and human expansion, crouched between a human female’s legs and fully prepared to ravish her at the drop of a pin. It was beyond disgusting to him - it was _disgraceful_. 

He finally took notice of the worried expression on her face, likely brought on by his sudden pause in activity. It was understandable. She had just revealed her inexperience not just with a turian, but with men in general, apparently being scared enough of their quickly-approaching union to voice it. Did she think him a brute, who would take her without mercy, roughly and uncaring of any pain she experienced as he got himself off? 

Perhaps there was sufficient reason to think that. Saren had entertained thoughts of bruising her too-perfect skin, after all. 

So rather than ask if she still wanted to go through with the joining, he instead said, “I will be sure to treat you carefully, human.” A gentle press of his lips against hers followed, seemingly surprising the girl. But she soon melted back into his touches, and Saren almost purred at the expression on her face. 

He would treat his human well.

 

Nova wanted so badly to touch him. 

Watching Saren slowly remove pieces of his clothes was tantalizing, revealing lengths of utterly alien skin as he worked himself down to the same state of undress as her. She knew the general biology of turians, how they were covered by metallic plating all along their bodies in an effort to protect themselves from the higher radiation of Palaven, of the large carapace that encircled the more sensitive skin of their necks. But actually seeing what a turian looked like underneath all that armor or clothing was quite different than simply being aware of it, and Nova couldn’t help staring in awe. 

Was she weird, for finding such beauty in the sight? It felt almost obscene for her to find Saren’s silvery hide so utterly captivating, despite how strange and unusual it was to her eyes. 

“Saren,” she whispered, tugging against the biotic restraints he had placed on her, wanting to feel him, to _touch_ that beautifully abnormal body. It felt unfair for him to have run his hands all along her skin, while she was forced to merely watch his own bare form move above her. And despite her better judgement, she vocalized this - earning an amused laugh from the turian. 

“Many things in life are unfair, human. Consider this as a lesson on that fact,” he replied, once again nuzzling against her neck and breathing out onto her ear. He was teasing her, coming so close yet knowing she couldn’t have what she wanted. It should have angered her, but she merely mewled under him, begging. Begging him for so many things. 

 

 _Please_.

The word rang in his skull. She had begged him to allow her to touch him. He wasn’t used to that sort of need, a need for _him_. Saren found he quite liked the feeling. His mandibles twitched in a smile, wondering just what the girl would do given free reign over her movements. He released the biotic field after a moment of thought, and immediately her soft hands were roaming over his chest. 

Saren let out a low rumble, gliding his hands down the human’s side to rest on her hips. Everywhere on her body felt like it was burning, a heat he thought unnatural for a human but one he quickly realized was the result of his actions. It was a pleasant experience. He had gone years with knowing how he caused others to tremble in fear, how he garnered respect from his lessers - and even that of the Council, who lauded him as the best Spectre in the business. Turians both applauded and reviled him, humans hated him but grudgingly respected his combat ability, asari fawned over him - Saren was used to all of this. But the knowledge that he could affect a single human girl, that he could affect Nova to such a lascivious degree, brought him far more pleasure than anything else ever had in his long years of service. He took immeasurable pride in knowing he had utterly ruined her for any other man, human or turian, without even having joined with her.

It was infuriating. 

She brushed her fingers along the base of his neck, tickling along his more sensitive, unprotected skin. Saren growled her name, voice low and deep to the point he felt her quiver against him. She liked his voice, for whatever strange reason. He planned to use that to his advantage later. 

“Brace yourself. I will be careful, but I will not be gentle,” he whispered, running his mouth along the girl’s neck as she wrapped her arms around his own, pulling them closer together and almost unconsciously angling herself for penetration. His plates were fully parted, shaft throbbing as he guided himself towards her entrance. Perhaps it was a good thing she couldn’t see their joining, as Saren realized just how small her body - her sex - was compared to his own length. She would be in pain for a while after. He saw no way to get around that. All Saren could do was ensure she experienced no rupture or bleeding, and for that he would have to start slowly. 

Afterwards, though… 

 

Nova couldn’t even vocalize how she felt as he entered her. 

Her mouth was open, eyes wide, and she could feel her lungs struggling to push out a noise, but nothing seemed to come. Tears pricked at her eyes. He was too big; she felt like she was going to split apart just with the tip, let alone the rest of it getting pushed into her. Her grip on his shoulder tightened, and she buried her face against his neck, the barest cry escaping in a broken manner as she felt him pulling downward on her hips. 

Were all turians this painfully large? Hell, were all men this big in general? Nova was beginning to wonder if she’d made the right choice, deciding to lose her virginity after a single drunken night with a turian who’d literally shot a man right in front of her.

But as she felt more of him slipping inside, ridges creating painfully hot friction between her thighs, that same sense of safety she felt towards turians seemed to return. Saren had shot someone without even blinking - he was cold, brutal, and had often made his disdain for her species clear during their talk back at Chora’s. Yet even feeling his sharp talons digging into her skin, his larger, rough body looming over her as he speared her sensitive area, Nova felt oddly secure. Protected. 

It wasn’t even just the feeling she was used to from being around turians. It was familiar. 

She whispered his name, clinging desperately to him as he sheathed himself. 

 

She was crying. Saren found it odd, wondering if it was normal for a human to do so in this situation. Or had he perhaps done something wrong? He hated crying humans - they were disgusting, growing wet with fluids from their nasal cavities which then smeared down the length of their faces. He’d seen few humans cry, but each time had irritated him beyond all measure. Yet now, as he watched the salty liquid prick the edges of Nova’s eyes, Saren felt a tug of guilt. Why was she crying? Was she in that much pain?

“Nova…” he whispered, voice humming against her ear as he snaked an arm around her shoulders, pressing her soft body against his. She opened her eyes, allowing him to see just how watery they had become. Judging by the tight set of her lips, she really was in a lot of pain. He had expected to let her deal with some - he was rather large even by turian standards, and she had admitted to never having had a man between her like this. She was also small. So terribly, beautifully _small_. He let out a low growl at the thought, licking along her cheeks as fresh tears fell.

She was so different compared to a turian female, or even an asari. Saren felt her inner walls shift and clench around him with every thrust, with every moan or sniffle she made. It was maddening, coaxing his own pleasure on far more quickly than he had anticipated. His other hand gripped onto her hip, talons nearly breaking her skin from the force. It was like her entire body was crying out for him, and the thought was driving him up a wall with pride. Could a human make her feel like this, elicit these sort of responses? 

He’d make sure they couldn’t. No one else. 

He heard her cry out, arms wrapping around his neck and closing the distance between them even further. Saren tightened his hold on her, wanting to feel every movement, every breath she let out as he increased his pace. Years of discipline and self control was all that kept him from completely losing himself and using her up entirely. Why were humans so damn soft? Every heave of her chest against his own made him want to break her. He should have. 

She was just a human. He should have had no qualms of hurting her while he took what he wanted. 

But every breathy utterance of his name pushed those dark thoughts away, made him focus in on her. Made him remember. His subvocals thrummed with pleasure, and by the twitching around his length, she could feel them easily now, pressed so tightly against him. Good - he wanted her to hear them. He wanted them running across every inch of her infuriatingly soft skin. 

Understand him, understand what she was doing to him. 

No one else had driven him to the brink of madness like this before, and Saren had half a wonder if every human woman was this good of a fuck. He could almost make an exception for the species if so.

Almost.

“S-Saren, I’m…” She couldn’t finish, voice breaking off into moans that made his mandibles pull into a satisfied smirk. But he understood - he could feel her tightening painfully around him. 

How would she sound at the peak of pleasure? He looked forward to finding out. 

 

His talons carefully explored over her flushed face, wondering if she was prepared for more than just a couple times. He wasn’t used to perspiration after such a rigorous activity, but then again he had rarely stepped into asari territory - and never human. But the way her skin shone under the light was oddly pleasing, coupled with the flush all along her face and chest. 

Humans were strange. His human even more so. 

Her eyes finally opened after a time, staring up at him with that same smoldering look as in the car. He could see exhaustion in them, too. Only to be expected, given her inexperience. But Saren wasn’t about to stop - there were still many things he was curious about. She would just have to deal with his stamina. He would at least make it worth her while, if the way she had responded to the first two sessions was any indication. 

She reached up with shaking hands, running her own fingers across his face plates. They were slow, methodical - again he felt as if she was trying to memorize every detail; every wrinkle, every scar, every ridge. She gently slid along the curved length of his mandibles, expression for once unreadable to him - but he liked it. He placed his own hand over hers, making it pause against the side of his face, and emitted a low hum from his subvocals. Her lips quivered, cheeks darkening with another blush. He would never understand what it was that gave her such arousal from the sound - surely she had no idea what any of them meant, not the way a fellow turian would. But Saren didn’t care.

He pulled her arms down, pinning them on the bed parallel to her head, slowly pulling himself out and feeling his seed dripping from the empty hole he left. She shivered in response to the motion, eyes shutting once more as she left out the tiniest of moans. Nuzzling against her neck, he growled out instructions. 

“On your hands and knees, human.” 

She seemed confused at first, perhaps baffled at how he wasn’t yet ready to stop despite two previous releases. But at another low snarl, she obeyed, weakly turning herself on the bed until she was on her stomach, baring her silky back to him. 

He wanted to strangle her against the bed. Bent over like a whore and filled to the brim with only him, only his seed. Even as he wished he could watch the expressions she would make again, Saren’s need to dominate her in every possible way pushed him to grip onto her raised hips, thumb running over the soft skin of her backside before he leaned over her, whispering placations as he felt her begin to tremble. He wasn’t going to hurt her, despite that dark voice deep down wanting him to. He would just use her up, satisfy as much of his damned drunken curiosity as he could before finally succumbing to exhaustion himself. With this in mind, he pressed his length back inside of her, sighing in ecstasy at the cry she let out. Even after having ruined her insides twice, she still must have felt pain at the size. No matter - he could fetch medi-gel if it came to that. Nothing was going to stop him from abusing her at least one more time, taking pleasure in having her on her knees below him, just as her species should be.

_Morning_

Movement from beside her was what first woke her up.

Nova languished against the pillow for a while after even so, body aching nearly as much as her head. It felt like too much trouble to even open her eyes, though the noises she picked up now and again made her want to. Tanya always had to be loud in the mornings, _always_. Why was she so loud? Even her footsteps seemed to carry extra weight to them, like she was stomping about the place. Nova groaned slightly, wishing her friend would stop and just let her sleep off the raging headache. 

A derisive snort was what reminded her of what happened. Her eyes opened a little too quickly, leaving her vision dizzy even as she still rested her head against the softness of the pillow. Soon she could make out a familiar silhouette, and dragged her tired gaze upwards to meet his. 

Saren. Hovering over her the same as he had done all night. 

That’s right, she remembered now. Tanya and the others had all vanished off on their own business back in Chora’s. She’d been alone. The creeps, the initial exchange, the gunshot. His warm hand on her arm, dragging her closer. His waist between her legs, pumping into her, grinding. Despite her miserable state, she couldn’t help blushing as memories of the last few hours rushed back, replaying in quick succession in her mind.

She hurt, but most of it was exhaustion from having gone at it as long as they had - as long as he’d been able to. She remembered being almost desperate for his stamina to run dry, feeling nearly ready to faint during the final round where he’d had her facing him again. She _had_ fainted, after he finally had sighed and rolled onto his side, pulling her close with an iron grip on her shoulder. So it was expected for her body to be angry with her after all of that, but what was the worst was the ache between her legs - the rawness of the skin. She vaguely recalled reading some medical warnings once about chaffing being a common occurrence between human/turian couplings, but given her general naivety of turian physiology below their clothes at the time, she’d dismissed it. That wouldn’t happen to her, she’d thought, because her first time would be with a loving turian who was careful and utterly gentle with her.

Things didn’t always work out how one imagined in their head.

Saren’s eyes seemed to be searching, finally breaking away from her own long enough to run along the length of her body, covered in the thin sheets. She thought she saw an almost sad expression pass over his face, but it was never easy to tell with turians - and especially not with Saren. He seemed to hide his emotions more than most, which almost assured she’d rarely understand anything he did let show. Surprisingly, he sat down on the edge of the bed, turning back to face her. 

“I applied some medi-gel to the worst of your… injuries. You will likely experience some lingering discomfort, however,” he said, voice oddly calm compared to how she remembered him being last night. His mandibles tightened against his jaw for a moment, and she saw him briefly look away before bringing his gaze back. “You have my… apologies. For the pain I caused you, and also for my behavior.”

“Your… behavior?” The apology was a little unexpected simply because he didn’t seem the type for them - and perhaps that was why he had paused. But Nova felt like she had been the more unreasonable of the two, throwing herself on him the way she’d done. Thinking back on what little she could remember between his rescue at Chora’s and being pinned to the bed, she was almost disgusted at herself for having acted like such a… well, something she wasn’t. Something she didn’t think she could be. She didn’t have enough confidence to do the things she’d done last night, or say the things she did. Alcohol was a hell of an uninhibitor. She’d probably be avoiding it from now on. 

“I acted on instinct more than sense, allowing my desires to compromise the situation. I… took advantage of you, despite your inexperience. I can only imagine how many human moral codes I shattered, in addition to my own.” Another contemplative pause, this time with his eyes completely leaving her to stare at a point on the opposing wall. “How old are you, human?”

So it was back to being called “human” again. He’d been using her name almost constantly after the third time last night. Nova wasn’t entirely sure why her chest clenched the way it did.

“Seventeen. I’ll.. um, be eighteen in a couple of months.” 

She heard him exhale angrily, muttering a curse to himself. 

“I suppose we can add on ‘depraved lecher’ on to my growing list of wrongdoings.” 

She wasn’t given enough time to ask what he meant before he huffed again, running a hand over his face. The action was remorseful, though, and it’s what spurred her to sit up despite the way it made her head spin to do so. She compromised by scooting closer to his large frame, resting her head against the base of his now-clothed carapace, hands pressing against his back gently. Nova heard a thrum from deeper within his voice, lasting but a minute before he turned his head to peer over his shoulder. 

“What are you doing now, human?”

“Nova.” 

“Pardon?”

Her fingers curled slightly, and she bit her lip. “Nova. You.. were using it more often before we fell asleep. Can you still do so..? Please…” 

Another hum. She wondered what they meant - he’d been doing that quite often during sex, the frequency and pitch of them changing every so often but still vibrating deep within his chest. 

“Nova. I need to make it clear that this was a mistake, on both our parts.”

This caused her to freeze. But whether due to the tiredness in her body, or because she truly understood subconsciously, her tense stance relaxed in a sign of defeat, and she could only weakly bury her face against his carapace. She knew. Had known. Had she not been as drunk as she was, she might not have even gone through with last night because of knowing it would amount to nothing between them. A part of her may have even felt relieved about it - what kind of relationship could she really expect if it started with a drunken night of sex, with them knowing hardly anything about each other beyond their names? At this point, all she knew about Saren was that he was a Spectre - one of the elite group of secret operatives who answered to no one except the Council. And even that was only the surface of who he was. He knew nothing about her at all, aside from the fact she apparently couldn’t control herself worth a damn while intoxicated.

She wished he could know. And that she could, too. 

“I know… I’m sorry, for… for being a handful…” she finally responded, voice quiet. Saren only made a contemplative noise in response. 

Soon he stood up, removing himself from her and leaving an empty, cold air behind as her arms lowered back to the bed. She was surprised, however, by the sudden feeling of his talons lacing through her hair, gently and carefully - as if she was a child being comforted by a parent. It was nice. And also familiar… more familiar than she thought it should be. Her brow knitted in confusion for a moment, wondering why - until his voice sounded once more. “You should try to shower. I left quite a mess on you..” 

“I… don’t know if I’ll be able to get myself there. My head is killing me…” It wasn’t exactly a lie. Especially now, with nothing solid to lean against, her vision was nearly swimming from how badly her head was pounding. All she wanted to do was just fall right back on the pillow and keep sleeping until the aching all over stopped. 

No, now _that_ was the lie. What she truly wanted was for him to help her. To stay with her. She wasn’t sure if it was the lingering naivety of her silly romantic dreams of the day after her first time, or that odd familiarity his touch brought. 

Either unaware of her mental battle or uncaring of it, Saren gave a slight huff, stepping away from her entirely and heading over to the small closet near the bed, retrieving what appeared to be his weapons from a shelf inside. Silently, he slipped them back into his belt, not sparing her another glance as he exited and moved towards the door. Panic overtook her for some unexplainable reason, and Nova quickly called out to him, almost jumping off the bed to catch him. 

“Let me make you something, b-before you go. Coffee? Or, um… do you prefer…” The question died on her lips as his cold gaze turned back towards her. 

“I’m to assume that you have a fully stocked kitchen full of dextro-amino food and drink, then?” he stated almost insultingly. The chilly glare was mirrored in his equally cold voice, no longer that calm, husky tone he had been using since they’d first started drinking in Chora’s Den. His constant words of how he disliked her species reverberated in her mind as she shrivelled under that gaze. Nova figured she was finally beginning to see some of that now.

He turned his back on her again, but remained stationary just in front of the still-closed door. She thought she could hear that hum again, harder to pick up now with him so far away, but still noticeable as he stood there. 

With a motion so sudden and quick it was a wonder he didn’t fall over his own weight, Saren turned towards her and began moving closer. She felt a surge of fear, nearly cringing as his talons came at her - until she felt his heated skin against her arm, hand tugging her up with enough force that she nearly fell out of the bed. He was there to catch her, other arm encircling her waist as he tugged her closer and gave her a quick stare. Just as she was about to questioningly whisper his name, Nova felt herself being lifted up, the hand on her arm removed only to hook under her legs as he picked her up like a child. She was too stunned to really say anything to him - or even do much beyond stare at him in shock as he carted her towards the bathroom and gently helped her lean against the glass wall of the shower. It was only after he started pulling away that the flush grew, as her aching mind remembered the fact she was completely naked still. The lingering gaze as he withdrew only seemed to make the embarrassment worse, and she vainly covered her breasts with her arms as she looked away. 

“As I said, try to clean yourself up. I’ll be taking my leave.”

“S-Saren..!” 

He paused, back once again turned to her. It didn’t bother her so much this time, however - it gave her a relief from feeling so utterly exposed. 

“Can… can we still keep in contact…? N-Not for, um.. not for this sort of… thing again, but…” Her lip was quivering, and it was a wonder she could even speak at all for how tongue-tied she felt. She wasn’t even sure what was causing her reaction; was it embarrassment, longing, intimidation, fear, all of the above? Was it the familiar feeling of security bubbling to the surface, that which she couldn’t quite place? She spurred herself onward. “I-I just… despite all of… this, and that we were drunk before too at the.. a-at the club, I just… find you interesting. Y-You tell interesting stories, and you’ve… been places I could only dream of going to before I die. And you’re… kind. I-In your own way. I feel like I owe you for… for helping me with those guys. S-So I just, um…” 

HIs continuing silence was unnerving. Not even a thrum of his lower voice. Nova felt like she was nearly shaking, forgetting her current state of undress and the ridiculousness of asking such things during it entirely. Her eyes were trained on the back of Saren’s head, eyes examining the hard silver plating in a strange fit of nervousness. It felt like an agonizing eternity just standing there, aching all over and shivering with anxiety.

“The moment I am bombarded with numerous inane messages, I will block all communications from you. Is that clear?” he finally growled a couple moments later. All the tension in her body seemed to release at once, and she nearly slumped against the glass in relief. His conditions wouldn’t be hard to meet - though they were also extremely easy to break. She had half a wonder if she’d even be able to send a simple hello, with how anxious it would make her. 

“I understand. Thank you, Saren…” 

He only gave a huff in response as he waved his omni-tool. She heard a muffled beep from somewhere in the bedroom, her own reacting to whatever he had done. A message, probably. 

Only a final glance was spared to her as he made his way out.


End file.
